Shikon thieves
by arkanghel22
Summary: The well is destroyed, the shikon jewel isn't insentient as everyone thought it was, and Kagome isn't with Inuyasha anymore. What's going to happen to Kagome now?


The Jewel Thieves

Disclaimer:I do NOT own Inuyasha!

**Chapter 1**

Now she'd done it.

Kagome had psyched herself that she could stay with Inuyasha even though she knew that he still had feelings for Kikyo. She had told herself that her heart can withstand it, as long as she can be near the guy she likes.

She guessed wrong.

Just when she came back to Sengoku Jidai, she had been the unwilling witness to Inuyasha and Kikyo's lovely reunion. Well, it would have been lovely if Kagome didn't feel like her heart was being torn apart by the scene.

So now here they were by the well where it all started, Kagome and Inuyasha, facing each other in silence.

Inuyasha had a determined look on his face, but he seemed a bit perturbed by Kagome's lack of anger. He had been expecting her to start shouting at him, pummel him with fists, or maybe barrage him with multiple "sits"... but not this silence.

"Kagome..." Inuyasha cautiously said.

"Wait..." Kagome interrupted him.

Inuyasha stared at Kagome's clear blue eyes and felt like his heart was being squeezed inside his chest. He could clearly see the hurt in them. The hurt he had inflicted. What he would give to erase that look of sadness in her face. But he can't, because he had sworn to protect Kikyo.

Kagome broke eye contact as she pulled the small bottle with the shards around her neck. She silently offered it to Inuyasha.

"I... Kagome, you have to know that I..." Inuyasha helplessly started to say, but once again Kagome interrupted him.

"I'm going back to my own time now. Let Miroku hold on to the shards, okay? And tell Sango and Shippo to take care. Tell them I'm going to miss them," she said in a rush. She couldn't even raise her eyes to look at him.

She suddenly stepped forward and pushed the bottle of shards on to Inuyasha's palm. Then she forced him around and gave him a little push towards the village.

"Go on. I'm going back now. No need to see me off," she said with a cheery tone.

Inuyasha frowned and tried to turn to her again but she prevented him. He finally bowed his head in acquiescence.

"I can never win against you, can I?" he mumbled. "If that's what you want...," he said without looking at her.

Then he was gone.

Kagome crumpled to the ground, finally letting the tears run down her cheeks.

So far, this had been the hardest thing that she had ever encountered. This was for the best, but why did it hurt so much?

Kagome turned to the well. There was no reason to stay here anymore. And right now, she wanted to feel the comfort of being with her family. She needed to cry in the arms of her mom. She needed to play with her little brother. She needed her grandfather to pat her head and tell her it will be alright. Anything to ease the pain in her heart.

She stepped on the well's rim and stared at the darkness below. This will be the last time she'll be jumping into the well. She never imagined that her departure from Sengoku Jidai would be like this, her heart aching, her eyes brimming with tears and no friendly face in sight. Silently, she bid all her friends goodbye.

-o-o-o-o-

Shippo knew that something was deeply wrong. Inuyasha had looked uncharacteristically brusque when he left to talk to Kagome. Before that, Sango, Miroku and Inuyasha had furiously whispered among themselves. They never included him when they were talking about what they deemed "adult" stuff, but he caught the words "Kikyo" and "break up" as well as Kagome's name from their hushed conversation.

Then Inuyasha left in a huff, not even saying goodbye to them. Sango looked worried as she stared at the direction the half-demon disappeared to.

"Where's Inuyasha going?" Shippo asked.

"He's going to get Kagome at the well," Miroku answered him. "...I hope," he added in a low tone.

Sango cuffed him. "You are an idiot! Why are you saying that now?! I don't want to travel with that undead miko! You better be sure Inuyasha comes back with Kagome, or else!" she angrily said to the monk. She then turned to the small kit and gently assured him.

"Inuyasha will definitely come back with Kagome," she said.

But Shippo heard the uncertainty in her tone. Kagome might not come back?! He can't let that happen! Kagome was his mama now, he didn't want to lose her, too!

As the monk and the demon exterminator quarreled, Shippo slunk back to the direction Inuyasha disappeared to. When he was far enough to escape notice, he broke into a run.

-o-o-o-o-

"Kagome!" Shippo yelled as he broke out of the forest and into the well's clearing. Dismayed to see his adoptive mother teetering at the edge of the well, he stumbled as he came to an abrupt stop.

There was an air of sorrow and finality around her. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she hadn't heard him cry out her name. As he watched, something glistening fell from her eye and into the mouth of the well.

She was crying.

"Mama!" he called, scrambling to his feet.

As if something was activated by Kagome's tears, Shippo felt his skin prickle. His eyes were inadvertently drawn upwards when flocks of birds exploded to the sky in flight. Then his ears picked out the simultaneous roar that seemed to be coming from the throats of different demons. Shippo instinctively crouched down, looking around for any sign of danger.

As his feet registered the slight rumbling of the ground, his eyes were trained to the pink streaks of light in the sky. It seemed that the pink streaks came from far and wide, moving with incredible speed.

Moving towards the well and Kagome.

-o-o-o-o-

Shippo's second cry finally snapped Kagome out of her reverie. Confused, she warily looked around as she listened to the roars coming from far away. Then her eyes latched on the small kitsune in surprise before looking up at the sky where she sensed something abnormal coming close.

Her eyes widened when she saw the pink streaks of light. She could feel the power coming from them... it vaguely reminded her of the power she sensed in the shikon shards. The streaks were coming in a very fast rate.

Right towards HER.

Shocked, she took a step back right into the mouth of the well. But before she could fall into the darkness, the pink streaks were upon her. Shippo watched helplessly as light coalesced around Kagome and held her aloft.

And then suddenly the well exploded.

As soon as the light touched her, Kagome knew that its power indeed came from the Shikon shards. Why was it attacking her? Was Naraku behind this? But no, she could sense that the power wasn't tainted at all. In fact, she almost felt like she was being enveloped in a loving embrace... in the middle of a swirling storm of power.

"Hold on, Kagome! I'll save you!"

Kagome looked down in alarm at Shippo. He had launched himself towards her, more focused on reaching her than on his own safety. She knew without a doubt that the Shikon's reiki would definitely turn the little kitsune to dust.

"Keep away, Shippo!" she yelled, but it was too late. Desperately, Kagome's own reiki flared against the Shikon's power to shield Shippo, almost to no avail. The little kitsune flailed as he came in contact with the pink ball of light. In horror, Kagome could almost see his youki escape and flow around with the storm of reiki around her. She grabbed Shippo and brought her against her chest, wrapping herself around him as if to shield him. But it was still no use. The little kit whimpered in pain.

"No! This can't happen! I won't let this happen! I'll take all the pain for him, just spare Shippo!" she railed.

Desperately, she tried to draw the reiki into herself to get it in control. It seemed to work because the pink haze around her lightened, but it felt like something had wrapped around her chest, constricting her. Nevertheless encouraged, she concentrated on drawing more of the the reiki in. As she focused, it felt like more bands of steel were clamping down on her one by one.

She gasped, one hand letting go of Shippo to scrabble against the invisible bands constricting her, but she doggedly kept on with what she was doing. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. With one last effort, she pulled at the reiki with all she got before finally losing consciousness.

-o-o-o-o-

From a distance, the pink bubble of light seemed to implode into itself, dropping two figures on the ground as it winked out.

Just then, a strange man stepped out of the shadows and stared in amazement at the destroyed well, and then at the unconscious bodies near it.

"What happened here?!" he said aloud to no one in particular.

He frowned in displeasure at the ruined well before his attention was caught elsewhere. He could sense the approach of demons coming that way. Lots of them.

He walked closer to the prone figures and stared at them speculatively. Were they the cause of all this commotion?

Of course he will never know the answer until they wake up. Sighing to himself, he crouched down and gathered the prone figures. Haphazardly slinging them on his shoulders, he casually walked to the shadows where he had popped out of.

With one last look at the ruined well, the stranger turned around and disappeared into the shadows with his fox and fox demon burden.

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**Yes, you read it right... fox and fox demon.**

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**Hi readers! This is my first time writing an Inuyasha fanfic. Haaahhh, too much reading fanfics about Sesshomaru and Kagome has finally infected me with Inuyasha fever. And I wasn't even a fan of the manga before! (Yep, I just recently became a fan of the manga AFTER I became hooked with reading IY fanfics)**

**Let me know what you think please! **


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